The utility of structural engineering concepts in architectural thinking: The Iranian experience

Abstract

This article explores the utility of structural engineering concepts in the architectural design process. The widening gap between architects and structural engineers who pursue divergent intentions during the design process prompted this research. While the architects lament the insensitivity and unfamiliarity of structural engineers towards shared values such as aesthetics, the structural engineers criticize the architects for their lack of essential structural engineering knowledge. Analyzing the data collected from in-depth interviews with twelve renowned Iranian architects/engineers reveals the nature, outcome, and content of structural engineering concepts, which can be found useful to architectural education and practice. The interviewees used metaphors to describe the nature of the relationship between architecture and structural engineering. They also encouraged architects to integrate the building's structure into its architectural design as part of a cohesive design process rather than two separate systems managed by different disciplines © 2013 Archnet-IJAR, International Journal of Architectural Research.